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Contact: [email protected] Finding Hope Within Hopelessness: An Exploration of Critical Dystopia and its Use in Modern Video Games by David Boyd Canterbury Christ Church University Thesis submitted for the degree of MA by Research 2018 Abstract Since the term ‘critical dystopia’ was first conceptualised and explored by academics in utopianism studies, including Tom Moylan and Rafaella Baccolini, there has been little research undertaken to exemplify how the form has been utilised in modern screen culture; mostly involving studies based on analysis of literature and cinematic texts rather than all facets of visual art and media. This dissertation aims to not only showcase the theoretical framework surrounding critical dystopia in comparison to its classical form, but to provide insight in to how its use in modern video gaming has proliferated whilst inheriting narrative and aesthetical traits traditionally associated with its literary and cinematic counterparts. This essay also argues that the integration of gameplay dynamics alongside narrative aspects further contributes to them being defined as such and provides a unique way to engage with discussions of world issues; including the integration of morality-based choice making, interactive narratives and a deep level of player immersion through use of realistic physics, sound, graphics and mechanics such as in-game construction. These elements aid in creating a personalised and multi-faceted approach to understanding the implied dystopia, and any utopian impulse or hope for positive progression beyond it. Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Alex Choat and Dr. Chris Pallant for their patience and support of my work, as well as providing wisdom and insight to develop my skills for academic research. I couldn’t have imagined having better mentors to advise and motivate me to complete my studies. I would also like to thank my family and friends for all the love and support they have given me throughout my study period- they always give me strength and confidence in times when I need it most. List of Contents 1. Introduction: Critical Dystopia and the Utopian Impulse ……………………p.1 2. Literature Review ………………………………………………………………………………p.5 3. Review of Critical Dystopia in Modern Cinema…………………………………..p.18 4. Approach…………………………………………………………………………………………..p.31 5. From Classic to Critical Dystopia in Video Gaming……………………………..p.34 - Player Immersion Explained…………………………………………………….p.41 6. Critical Dystopia and the Interactive Video Game Narrative………………p.49 - Post-Apocalypse Russia: History, Ideology and Desire for Cultural Exchange in Metro 2033…………………………………………...p.51 - Fallout 4: Nostalgia and Pre-Colonial living in the Post-Apocalypse State of Nature………………………………………………………………….…..p.60 - Conscience, Community and Empathy existing within the Occupied War State in This War of Mine: The Little Ones………………………….…..p.74 7. Ethical Gameplay and the Push Towards Utopian Horizon ………….…….p.81 - The Moral Difficulty in This War of Mine: The Little Ones…………p.82 - The Moral Points System in Metro 2033…………………………………..p.86 - Morality and the Posthuman in Fallout 4………………………………….p.92 8. Player Immersion and the Dystopian Experience ………………………………p.96 9. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………...P.107 10. Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………………P.111 Introduction: Critical Dystopia and the Utopian Impulse Dystopian narratives have seen common use within literature and cinema, most notably within science fiction and horror to “defamiliarize and restructure our experience of our own present” (Jameson, 2005, p286), presenting versions of reality that are reminiscent but simultaneously estranged from our own experiences, cultures, and politics. Dystopia tends to interrogate present-day societal issues, acting as what Moylan classifies as “products of the terrors of the twentieth century” (2000, xi). Historically, it has dealt with issues such as fear of totalitarian, fascist states, and a loss of individual identity associated with Communism; classically exemplified in the nightmarish thought- controlled, hyper-surveillance society of Nineteen Eighty-Four (Orwell, 1949); but later depicting destructive effects of capitalism; including the critique of Reagan-era economics in They Live (Carpenter, 1988), showing the working class as a lost generation among a poisonous culture of individualist greed, consumerism, corporate cost-cutting, and media control. In opposition to a utopian sense of narrative and aesthetic whereby the ideal society is presented as a form of positive “social dreaming” — the Sargent-coined notion of utopian desire for change towards something better (1994, p2) — classical dystopian texts offer their narratives as a more negative and anti-utopian form of imagination, acting as cautionary tales and a “prophetic vehicle […] warning us of terrible socio- political tendencies” that could, if left unchecked, transform our world in disastrous and undesirable ways (Baccolini and Moylan, 2003, p2). 1 Post-apocalypse texts are known to share this pessimistic stance of showing the “temptation to despair” (Moylan, 2000, p186) and very worst outcomes within a dystopian world including A Boy and his Dog (Jones, 1975) and Mad Max II (Miller, 1982); both presenting humanity in societal extremis in carnivalesque fashion and showing enjoyment and fantasy of life without societal organisation. However, classic post- apocalypse fiction still shares the typical dystopian human condition as selfish and consumerist, unable to sustain any sense of progressive community or genuine empathy for one another; resorting to morally abhorrent action for individual gain, such as murder, theft, and even rape. However, it has been argued that this pessimism does not extend to all dystopian and post-apocalypse fiction, and has contributed to the conceptual exploration of a new form; one that inherits the same dystopian values of showcasing an undesirable world but exhibits a new oppositional and resisting form of writing, maintaining a utopian horizon in the pages of dystopian science fiction and in […] anti utopian times” (Baccolini, 2004, p518), rather than using narrative for mostly cautionary function. ‘Critical dystopia’ is a variant within utopianism conceptualised in contemporary academic discussion by Tom Moylan and Raffaella Baccolini, both arguing a proliferation of dystopian and post-apocalypse texts in contemporary film and literature that tend to avoid the deep pessimism routed in classic dystopia; foregrounding a “utopian impulse” of hope within the narrative not only for the characters but for the entire portrayed world-state (Baccolini, 2000, p18). This form aims to reduce the pessimism inherent in classic dystopian texts and provide an optimistic discussion of issues, showing undesirable worlds as not “being immune to some kind of positive transformation that could correct it” (Schulzke, 2014, p324) as well as critically debating the inevitability of dystopia due to the possibility for utopian change. Moylan defines the 2 form as “a textual mutation that self-reflexively takes on the present system” not only critiquing socio-political order but exploring “the oppositional spaces and possibilities from which the next round of political activism can derive imaginative sustenance and inspiration” (2000, xvi). The utopian impulse of hope residing within critical dystopia, opposing despair prevalent in classic dystopia, informs readers of potential for positive change within the narrative, and can thus potentially influence real-world activism and change through the association of the intrinsic link with reality that the text offers. Despite a limited amount of academic studies on the use of critical dystopia in modern cinema, there has been very little exploration of the proliferation of such texts within modern video games development. Although dystopia has been a popular narrative form used in games to provide compelling plots and aesthetic backdrops to enhance playability, I argue that modern videogames inherit critically dystopian narrative structures found in modern cinema, and can be further defined as such through the implementation of interactive game dynamics. These include moral dilemmas, interactive narratives, and a deep level of player immersion by implementing realistic audio-visual factors and interactive dynamics including in-game world transformation via construction capabilities; all allowing for a personal and affective experience, positioning the player as an active agent for change and providing reflection of contrarian viewpoints, complexities, and